2016 PG Te’Jon Lucas commits to Illinois

With its immediate future a little bleaker than expected now without Tracy Abrams and Darius Paul in upcoming season, Illinois basketball took a step in making 2016 brighter Wednesday when Milwaukee point guard Te’Jon Lucas made his verbal commitment to play for the Illini over USC and Old Dominion.

Lucas, 5-foot-11, is rated the No. 1 point guard in Wisconsin and No. 6 in the Midwest, according to Scout.com. He spent the summer with AAU circuit in July and was later invited to the NBA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The decision comes following John Groce’s in-home visit with Lucas and his family last week. Other Big Ten schools that expressed interest in Lucas include Michigan, Indiana and Purdue.